Method of processing sheet metal



Oct. 15, 1935. E. T. LORIG ET AL METHOD OF PROCESSING SHEET METAL 3 Sheets-Sheet l SQ .mm

IZZUGMOTS. EDWIN T LOB/6 and Filed NOV. 13, 1935 CHEL E Moo/Q5.

E. T. LORIG E1 AL METHOD OF PROCESSING SHEET METAL Oct. 15, 1935.

5 Sheets-Sheetv 2 Filed Nov. 15, 1935 EDW/A/ 7T LOB/6 4/7/ CQEL E. MOCEE. M

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Oct. 15, 1935 E. T. LORIG ET AL METHOD OF PROCESSING SHEET METAL 3 SheetS-rSheet 3 Filed Nov. 13, 1935 Patented Oct. 15, 1935 PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PROCESSING SHEET Edwin 'l. Lorig and Carl E. Moore, Gary, Ind-., assignors to American Sheet and Tin Plate Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application November 13,1933, Serial No. 697,864

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel method of processing sheet metal, and more particularly to the cold reduction of continuous metal strip, although not limited thereto.

In the manufacture of continuous metal strip, slabs or billets are first rolled on a hot strip mill to obtain a work-piece of very substantial length,

nominal width, and relative thinness. The strip thus obtained is usually pickled, washed, and oiled, after which it is coiled and subsequently cold processed to reduce its thickness, greatly elongate it and provide it with a finally finished surface. The cold reduction operation referred to usually takes place in a continuous type of -high mill.

In commercial operations of. this sort, the so terial forms slivers on its surface which contact with the bodies of the metal working rolls, the latter also collecting deposits of carbonized oil and impurities accruing from-the prior processing referred to.

These impurities must be removed, or they will result'in an imperfectly processed work-piece, in

addition to occasioning the frequent removal and regrinding of the surfaces of the various metal workingrolls;

In our co-pending applications, entitled Meth- 0d and apparatus for maintaining constant the temperature of metal working rolls, Serial No. 697,862, filed November 13, 1933, and Serial No. 697,863, filed November 13, 1933, there is disclosed novel means for spraying the surfaces of the various metal working rolls with a coolant, which also serves as a lubricating medium between the material and the rolls. While these devices are very efiective in operation, surplus quantities of the cooling medium, or coolant, must be removed from the mill on the side from which the material is-emerging, otherwise it will coat the strip in excessive quantities and occasion difiiculties in subsequent operations, such as, for example, annealing.

In two co-pending applications, of Lawrence S. Dahl and John L. Peet, entitled Method and apparatus for cleaning metalworking rolls, Serial No. 694,315, filed October 19, 1933, and Serial No. 694,316, filed October 19, 1933, means are'provided for cleaning the surfaces of the metal working rolls of metal slivers, carbonized oil deposits and other impurities, and removing the combined coolant and lubricating media referred to,

r from the side of the mill from which the material metal results in the complete maintenance of a constant temperature or the bodies of the various metal working rolls, and the provision of an antifrictlon, or slip, area at what is known as the nip" of the metal working rolls, or initial area of reduction.

One object of the present invention is the pro--' vision of a novel method of processing sheet metal in suchmanner as to procure the maln- 10 tenance of a constant temperature for the metal working rolls, and the provision of such coolant, which likewise serves asa lubricating medium to their initial areasoi reducton, resulting in a slip area at this point, and the consequent production of an article of manufacture characterized by having a finely finished surface otherwise unobtainable.

Another object is to provide a novel method oi the class described which will efiiciently and completely remove all slivers of metal of the work-piece, carbonized oil deposits and other im-' purities from the surfaces of the metal working rolls at points adjacent their initial areas of reduction. These and still furtherobjects will be apparent after referring to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the device of the invention as used in connection with a 4-hig mill of. the cold reduction type, the latter being shown in section. Figure2isaviewsimilartol igureloithe apparatus in another stage of operation.

Figure 3 is a sectional maggot the,devioe as operating in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail of the device in a modified stage of operation.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional detail representing the function of the apparatus of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates a pair of large backingup rolls between which there is disposed a pair of smaller metal working rolls B, all of whichwhen taken together form a conventional type of. 4-high millused in cold reduction operations. A supporting frame -2 'is attached to either side of the mill, composed of the backing-up and metal working rolls A and B, respectively, and extends both above and below its horizontal center line. The frames 2 support on either side of the mill at single manifold 3 adjacent the lower portion of the upper backingup roll A, and-a series of individual manifolds 4 adjacent the upper portions of the upper metal working roll B. A like series of manifoldsi is similarly supported on both sides of the mill adjacent the upper portions of the lower metal working roll B, while a single manifold 6 is disposed adjacent the upper portion of the lower backing-up roll A and on both sides thereof.

connected to a common supply chamber 9, one

being provided on either side of the mill and both above and below its horizontal center line.

The coolant, which serves also as a lubricating medium, is delivered from a suitable source to the supply chambers 9 by means of a pipe ID. A valve I2 is disposed between each of the chambers 9 and inv the pipes 8, and are each provided with an actuating-lever E3 to which there is connected an operating rod I 4 having a handle l5 remotely situated with respect to the vertical center line of the mill, in order that the valves may be remotely and conveniently controlled.

By adjusting each of the valves [2 through its handle I5, the operation of the various spray nozzles in the various chambers may be individually regulated, and if deemed desirable entirely discontinued, in such manner as to enable the flow of coolant onto selective portions of the bodies of the rolls A and B with the consequent maintenance of constant temperatures.

A number of bafiles l6 are shown as being associated with each of the manifolds 3 and 4, and serve to control the flow of liquid after it has fallen off the bodies of the various rolls in order to restrain, so far as is practical, the escape from the mill of the superfluous quantities thereof.

A pair of trackways I! are secured on either side of the mill to the frames 2 and serve to support a pair of rollers l8, to which there is connected a continuous and curved plate I9. A relatively flat plate 20 is connected to each of the curved plates l9 and provided with a rearward extension, as at 2|, in order to augment the function of the bailles 16 for the manifolds 3 and l.

A continuous trough 22 is connected to each of the curved plates l9 and relatively fiat plates 20 and made to extend the length of the metal working rolls, and each has secured thereto a scraper blade 23. These blades are provided with hollow-ground contact edges23 and are brought into and out of contact with the lower portion of the upper metal working roll 3 by means of fluid cylinders 24 and connecting linkage generally indicated at 25.

The series of manifolds 5 on either side of the mill and below the line of pass are preferably formed cylindrical and mounted for partial rotation in unison on the frames 2 in, any well known manner. A link 26 is connected to the rotatable manifolds 5, and to an operating lever 21 having a handle 28 extending remotely from the mill and somewhat adjacent the handles 15 for controlling the operation of the valves I2. This is for the purpose-of permitting the manifolds 5 to' spray coolant on the surface of the lower metal working roll B at an angle relatively coinciding with its direction of rotation. That is to say, the manifolds 5 on the left-hand side of the mill will spray coolant upwardly with respect to the horizontal center-line of the lower metal working roll B when it is rotating clockwise, and conversely upon reversing the direction of rotation of the various rolls of the mill, as shown in Figure 2, the manifolds on the right-hand side of the mill being rotated 5 in such manner that they will spray upwardly while the corresponding manifolds on the lefthand side of the mill be" made to spray downwardly.

Suitable trackways 30 are mounted on each 10 of the frames 2 below the trackways I! and on both sides of the mill, and serve to support rollers 3|, each pair of which have mounted thereon a table 32 having on its end nearest the vertical center line of the mill a scraper blade 33. 15 A pair of still lower trackways 30 on either side of the mill support rollers 34 having mounted thereon plates 35 which carry on their ends nearest thevertical center line of the mill a scraper blade 36, and are curved downwardly at their 20 rearward ends, as shown at 31, in order to permit the flow of superfluous quantities of coolant onto a baflle 38 for the lowermost manifolds 6.

In practice, the scraper blades 36 are maintained against the lower portion of the lower 25 metal working roll B on both sides of the mill regardless of its direction of rotation. Suitable fluid cylinders 40 and 4| control the movement of the various scraper blades 33 and 36, by means of suitable linkages generally indicated at 42 30 and 53, respectively.

A bell-crank lever 44 is pivoted on each of the frames 2 and on either side of the mill, as

V at 45, and support on their lowermost ends scrapjusted by means of actuating rods 41.

If the mill is made to feed in the direction shown in Figure 1, that is, from leftto right, the 40,

curved plate I9 on the left-hand side of the mill is retracted from the vertical center line thereof in such manner as to bring the scraper blade 23 to a position relatively remote with respect thereto, and the corresponding scraper blade 23 45 on the right-hand side of the mill is made to contact with the upper metal working roll.

In this position, the spray manifold 4 on the left-hand side of the mill will dispense coolant downwardly onto the surface of the upper metal working roll, from which it will be deflected onto the trough 22, and then flow downwardly across the upper surface of the scraper blade 23 and directly into what is known as the nip of the upper metal working roll; or, in other words, the initial area of-reduction between the strip being processed and the metalworking rolls. This area isv represented in Figure 5 between the lines X and Y. At this point-the lubricating qualities of the coolant serve to provide a slip area. before the metal strip is substantially reduced between the lines Y and Z, and due to the Welling-up of the liquid at this point all particles of foreign matter are washed away. This condition makes for ideal processing in that portion of the mill wherein the most substantial reduction is effected. While the scraperblade 23 on the side of the mill from which the strip is emerging is incontact with the lower portion of the upper metal working roll B, in order to clean its surface, the spraying of the coolant is continued from the manifolds l and the tray 22 serves to retain a backwash at this point, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, which likewise serves to wash away the impurities referred to. I6

amuse It will be seen that, due to the disposition of the trays 22 with respect to the direction of rollins, the cooling media and lubricant is suitably delivered into the nip of the upper metal working roll. The conditions below the horizontal center line of the mill are, of course, diilerent, as

' the liquid tends to fall away from the upper pertion oi the lower metal working roll.

For this reason, the levers 28 are adjusted to afiect the spraying of the combined coolant and lubricant in such manner as to converge towards the direction oi rotation. Ii the rolls are rotat ing at relatively high speed, a slight spray angle as shown in Figure 3 will be sumcient, as the high peripheral speed of the rolls will tend to carry the liquid into the nip and lubricate the lower initial area of reduction and serve, in addition, to wash away the impurities by gravity. However, if the rate of rotation of the various rolls is retarded, the speed of the lower metal working roll B, will be insuificient to carry the desired quantity of coolant and lubricant into the nip, and the angle at which the liquid is sprayed must therefore be increased, as shown in Figure 4.

By providing the lubricant in sufiicient quantitles at all times to the areas described, a highly superior yield of product results, with finely finished surfaces heretofore unobtainable in cold reduction practice of the type referred to. In addition, the various rolls may be used for a greater length of time before it is necessary to regrind them. These conditions serve to greatly minimize the necessary number of processing passes.

It is to be understood that the term "superfluous" as used in the claims is intended to define a quantity greater than a mere film, which results in the new functions referred to.

While we have shown and described one specific embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of ourinvention, as defined in the following claims.

We claim: l. The method of cold-working sheet metal which includes passing the work-piece through the rolls of a mill and simultaneously delivering a liquid lubricant into the area oi initial reduction of the rolls of the mill, the liquid lubricant being under high pressure and in quantities su perfiuous to that required to form a mere film, the delivery of the liquid lubricant taking place only on that side of the mill on which the workpiece entering whereby the exiting work-piece is substantially free therefrom.

method of cold-working sheet metal which includes passing the work-piece through the rolls of a mill, delivering a liquid lubricant into the initial area of reduction of the upper metal-working roll of the mill, and delivering a ous to that required to form a mere film, both.

deliveries of the liquid lubricant taking place only on that side of the mill on which the work-piece is entering whereby the exiting work-piece is substantially free therefrom.

3. The method or cold-working sheet metal which includes passing the work-piece through the rolls of a mill, delivering a liquid ,Iubricant into the initial area of reduction of the upper metal-working roll of the mill, delivering a liquid lubricant onto the lower metal-working roll thereof at an angle relatively coinciding with its peripheral travel and modifying the angle at which the liquid is dispensed in accordance with the rate of rotation of the rolls of the mill, the liquid lubricant being under high pressure and in quantities superfluous to that required to form a mere film, both deliveries of the liquid lubricant taking place only on that side of the mill on which 

